A word from the Superior General

In the letters of St. Michael Garicoits, as in other writings, we often come across this expression, which has become very familiar to us, we who know the saint, love it and have decided to live the Gospel in the light of it. Let’s look at some examples:

« Henceforth you will no longer look back, neither to right or to left; but always forward to the goal of your vocation... carrying like a warrior the crosses that go with your situation!... being careful not to take on extra ones that would hold up your glorious progress. I mean do nothing unwise under the pretext of mortifying yourself. » (Letter 24)

« When you realise that you have done something well and feel good about it, say; ‘Amen.’ If you are criticised for something that goes wrong, say; ‘I did my best.’ Then go ahead! In practice do your best to do the right thing. » (Letter 59)

« Be brave then! Always go forward! God wishes this! Always go ahead! Turn your back on temptations. Amen. » (Letter 78)

« The Cross is everywhere. Simply be brave! This must never be wanting in a good Sister of the Cross. She must always seek to go forward in her holy calling, always forging ahead! Because the real good is there and especially at the end is the crown, and what a crown! So be brave, dear Sister, always, no matter what the cost!» (Letter 129)

This “always forward” expresses the depth of his spiritual experience. It shows a spirituality of movement, peculiar to those who, in the footsteps of the Saint of Betharram, want to live with others in “mobile camps,” without settling down or yielding to comfort. On other occasions, I have already explained that the Jesus who fascinates St Michael Garicoits is not the static man, but the Incarnate Word always in motion: from the bosom of the Trinity to that of Mary, from Heaven to Earth, He is always seen on the road in the Gospel, traveling through the towns and villages of Galilee, through Judea, going up to Jerusalem, Jerusalem to the Cross and the Cross to the Glory of the Father. This journeying makes us pilgrims, not fixtures in this world. The pilgrim is on his way as long as he has not attained the desired end: here, union with Christ in heaven, our supreme desire, “forward, always forward, to heaven.” It is from this experience of pilgrims that we can cry: “Forward, always forward!" In the Spiritual Canticle, St. John of the Cross says that we must never stop, neither to enjoy the benefits we have gained, nor for fear of danger; No obstacle can stop us: « In search of my Love I will go over mountains and strands; I will gather no flowers, I will fear no wild beasts; I will overcome the strong and the challenges. »

One can always be tempted to settle down, to wallow in the bitterness of one’s pain, or to believe that, since a good result has been obtained, the goal is reached and it is impossible to go further. This is what these famous verses of St. Teresa of Jesus express: “Let nothing disturb you, Let nothing frighten you, All things are passing away: God never changes. Patience obtains all things Whoever has God lacks nothing; God alone suffices." To cry “always forward!” is also to choose to constantly surpass oneself in love, it is to engage more and more in the gift of oneself, in both good times and bad times. Both are challenges for our lives to grow in humanity and to become genuine disciples of the one Master. To be the disciples of Jesus, to feel united and accompanied by him at every moment, is what gives strength and joy to go always forward. To follow the example of Christ, (our reason for being and living) consists in pleasing the Father in all circumstances, in doing his will and in serving our human brethren so that their lives become dignified and beautiful. This is a realistic, embodied spirituality that values ​​human situations and relationships, in which one learns to discover the presence of God. The whole gospel presents Jesus in this dynamic: do not hold back at all, always go forward.

« Duc in altum » (Put out into deeper water). Peter is discouraged: he worked all night in vain, but no fish in the lake. But he trusts the word of Jesus more than his own experience: therefore, just because Jesus says so, he convinces himself of the impossible and throws out his nets once more. By listening to Jesus, Peter catches the fish he no longer hoped to find in the lake. Despair gives way to confidence in the one who renews everything and to whom nothing is impossible. “Leave me, O Lord, for I am a sinful man.” Jesus does not accept to remain on Mount Tabor, in spite of Peter who tried to capture this moment of happiness – (‘he did not know what he was saying’) in awe of what he had seen. But Jesus descends with the disciples to the plain, to continue his journey to Jerusalem. There are situations in which, in order to continue to progress, one must be strong and determined because the body or nature resists. This is what happens also for Jesus when he decides to undertake the ascent to Jerusalem, where he knows that the passion which he predicts three times, awaits him. Luke says that “Jesus set his face...” Saint Michael Garicoits says of himself something approaching: “In moments when nature inwardly retreats, I repeat the battle cry: ‘Forward. God wills it’ and then I stride ahead. Do the same, dear Sister.“» (Letter 107 )

What strength of will Jesus needed, in order not to hide or flee, not to protect himself, in this state of solitude, from the fear and anguish that he went through in Gethsemane ! “Father, if you will, remove this cup from me; However, not my will, but your will be done.“ “Stand up! Come on! Behold, he that comes to me is near.”

To always go forward, Jesus must face the unjust situation that will take away all his dignity and make him less than a worm. There is something beyond passion, the cross and death: the Father is waiting for him to give the gift of self to glorify him and to let everyone know that love is stronger than death.

Whoever lives for himself, to serve his own interests, to protect himself, to take advantage of everything and all in order to satisfy his personal whims, cannot go “always forward”. Some people try to possess everything and claim to do it in the name of the Gospel and Jesus, who called them to offer them a missionary opportunity. But these people are not able to respond by giving the prophetic response that Jesus and everyone expects of them. They remain closed in on themselves, unable to go forward by sacrificing themselves in selfless devotion, following the offering of Jesus to his Father: it began at the moment of his virginal conception and culminated in the “all is accomplished“ on the cross.

Gaspar Fernández Pérez scj
Superior General